Hide Not in the Darkness
by commandercupid
Summary: Hawke and Merrill live together in Hightown, and some residents don't care for their presence. Modern AU, FemHawkexMerrill


So I was sitting around browsing Tumblr, and I realized that I haven't written any Hawke/Merrill fics in a while. This is the finished product. I also have never written in a modern AU, so I hope you like it!

WARNING: This one gets pretty dark, so I figured that I would put up the trigger warning, even though nothing really happens, just to be safe.

Marian Hawke pushed her glasses further up onto her nose, and looked again at the proof on her tablet. She had been working for the _Hightown Herald_ for nearly two years, and the amount of idiots that decided to screw with the system was still unbelievable to her. _Ah well. It pays the rent_ , she thought, and continued working. The pages seemed to blend together the longer that she looked and revised, and soon Hawke had almost hypnotized herself. She was so lost in her work that when the large wooden front door opened and slammed shut, Hawke fell off the couch in surprise.

"Maker's balls!" Hawke rubbed her forehead where she had banged it on the coffee table, and looked up to see Merrill standing in the doorway, rubbing the snow off of her black hair. Merrill's usually happy face was overcast in doubt, and there were obvious tearstains running down her cheeks. "Merrill? What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing." Merrill replied in her lilted and accented voice, walking over to sit next to Hawke on the couch. Hawke lifted an eyebrow; Merrill was always nothing _but_ obvious when something was wrong. The flatness of her voice told Hawke everything she needed to know: something was indeed bothering her love, and she intended to figure out what.

"Come on Merrill, we've been together for three and a half years now. I know you well enough to work out when somethings wrong. _Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease_ tell me…" as Hawke spoke, she scooted closer and closer to the elf, and when she reached her side, she began mercilessly tickling her, until Merrill began to hiccup with laughter.

"Oh, alright. It's just…is there something wrong with us?"

"Other than the fact that we are sitting on the cold hard floor instead of the heating blanket on the couch? No, I don't believe so."

"Nothing at all wrong with us? You promise?" Merrill looked at Hawke with her almond-shaped green eyes. Hawke raised an eyebrow, and was about to reply when she saw a small black mark on the edge of Merrill's shoulder. She reached out and pulled down Merrill's sweater, and to her horror, saw a line of dark bruises heading down Merrill's arm.

"Merrill, what in the Maker-what happened to you?"

Merrill began to cry again. "It was the Arishock and his gang of thugs. They saw me walking down the street and started to follow me, pestering me because I'm…with you. They cornered me and grabbed me. They were saying all these terrible things about me being with you, and I thought they were going to-"

"Hush." Hawke put her hand over Merrill's mouth, and embraced her. They sat on the cold floor like that until Merrill finished her cry. "They didn't…touch you anywhere else, did they?"

"They tried, but I kicked the one holding me in the groin, and ran away as fast as I could." Merrill's voice had gone back to the original dull tone, and she stared at the floor. "Why do people hate us, Hawke? We haven't done anything to them. I don't understand why people hate us because we love each other."

Hawke sighed, and lifted Merrill's chin so that the elf's face was in line with her own. "Listen to me, Merrill. _There is nothing wrong with you, or me, or us being together._ We love each other, we know that. However, other people have been taught that two women cannot be together romantically, because it's against the Maker's rule. Hell, my own mother told me that, when I first told her I liked girls! But she accepted me for who I am, though it took her a while."

Merrill nodded in response. "All of my family told me that too, but they never accepted me. I…still wish they had."

"I know, love. As unfortunate as that is, there will always be people that look down upon us. But the important thing is that no matter what they say, no matter what they do, I will always love you. Alright?"

"I know, ma'venan. Thank you." Merrill kissed Hawke and snuggled into her shoulder.

A few weeks passed by, and Merrill seemed to fare much better after their talk. One windy afternoon, Hawke decided to celebrate the latest proof going into the paper with a cinnamon teacake. She simultaneously ate and walked down the street towards her apartment when someone grabbed her from behind, and put a hand over her mouth.

"No noise, girly, or you get it, you hear?"

Hawke was dragged down an alleyway, where several large men stood, holding baseball bats. _The Arishock's gang_ , Hawke thought, a pit of terror settling in her stomach.

"We warned your lady-friend to leave you be, but she didn't listen. Now you and her, you get to pay the price for being abominations in our turf." said one of the men, and grabbed a bat from his lackey. Hawke closed her eyes, and braced herself for the incoming pain. But it never came.

"You…you leave my love be, you shiteheads!"

"Merrill!?" Hawke turned to see the elf standing at the entrance of the alleyway, holding a large plank of wood.

"Get the other!" yelled one of the gang, and Hawke took that moment to wrench her arm free and punch the man holding her in the mouth. Hawke wasn't trained in martial-arts for nothing, and the man yelled in pain as blood streamed from his broken jaw.

"Get out of here, Merrill!" screamed Hawke, as she fought with two men in baseball caps, who advanced towards her with bats in hand. She charged one of them, kicking him in the arm. She realized too late that she was outnumbered, as the one behind her managed to land a blow to her head. Hawke collapsed, head spinning. The men grinned, and pulled off Hawke's coat, and began to tear at her jeans. Suddenly, there was a crack and the sound of breaking wood, as Merrill broke the wood board over the man leaning near Hawke's face.

"You touch my love, and you get the other half of this board, you hear! Now get out of here, and tell your damned leader that you don't mess with us anymore!" Merrill's voice had gone deadly soft and quiet, and there was unmistakable rage in her voice. The man growled something in response, picked up his colleague and pulled him away from the two women. The rest of the gang had cleared out and left the alley empty, except for Hawke and Merrill. Merrill threw her arms around Hawke and held her close. "Ma'venan, are you all right?"

"That depends. Am I dead yet?" groaned Hawke, slowly and painfully sitting up. She felt her forehead, and under her fingertips was a considerable lump, that was only going to get bigger. "Maker's balls, that hurt."

"I'm surprised that you're awake after a blow like that." Merrill stroked Hawke's face, and kissed her cheek.

"How did you know I was here? And why didn't you run after I told you to?"

"I saw them going into the alleyway with all of those bats, so I knew that they weren't up to anything good. And when I saw them drag you…oh Creators, I couldn't stand it."

"But I thought-"

"Not in a million years would I let them hurt you, Marian Hawke." " Hawke blushed at the sound of her full name, and Merrill smiled in response. "I may be small, but I will always defend the ones I love. I'm not afraid of what people will think of me anymore, because I know who I am, and no one can change that. " The elf stood up, brushed the dust and splinters of off her corduroy pants, and helped Hawke onto her feet. "Now, let's get you to a doctor. I bet you two weeks of take-out that you have a concussion."

I think this is the hardest fic that I have ever written, for a lot of different reasons. I had LGBTQ+ friends who ended up in situations like this, and they were ashamed at who they were because of what other people thought of them. It makes me sad that people treat each other this way, and I hope every day for a world in which we can treat each other equally. Also, I've read in a bunch of different places that Merrill gets a lot of flack for being useless, or weak, or too "adorable to function". While I still agree with that last one just a bit, I believe that Merrill can hold her own just fine, and can kick some serious ass if she needs to defend the ones she loves.

If you liked, leave a favourite/review/kudos!


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